In the prior art, disrupters are used in various forms to neutralize a potentially explosive package so that the package does not detonate in its intended and harmful way. High speed water jets or cannons or other projectiles have been used to break apart the package. Other devices have water-filled components that minimize harmful impact when the package is neutralized.
Another kind is a mineral water bottle (MWB) that contains water and an explosive charge. In use, the bottle is positioned adjacent a target package. One end of a detonation line or shock tube is inside the bottle and interfaces with the charge. The shock tube then runs from the bottle to a remote location where shock tube is used to detonate the explosive charge in the bottle to neutralize or dispose of the targeted package. In certain instances, a robot or unmanned device positions the bottle in a desired location, and controls placement of the shock tube as well. In other instances, a human can position the bottle and the shock tube. The robot can also control the remote detonation under direction from the robot operator, or a human can directly control detonation.
While the use of these types of mineral water bottle disrupters is effective in neutralizing a target package, the placement and operation of the bottles is not without problems. In many instances, the terrain is not flat, and it is difficult to position the bottle in an upright manner. Also, when using robots, lasers are often used to identify where to place the bottle, and environmental conditions can sometime affect the accuracy of the placement. Also, accurate placement using a robot requires intense training and this increases overall costs for these types of operations. Further, because a detonation line or shock tube must run from the disrupter device to a remote location, the line presents the opportunity for its accidental tugging of pulling, whereby the bottle can be upset from its location, and the placement procedure then must be repeated.
Accordingly, a need exists for improved techniques for placing disrupter devices when neutralizing packages. The present invention solves this need by providing a visual assistance guide system, which allows a robot or human to easily, quickly, and accurately locate a disrupter in a desired location regardless of the type of terrain or other environmental conditions.